Zango Town , Liberia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- At the gravesite in a northern Liberia village , there are no religious or traditional burial rites . No ceremony , no mourning , no family members , and no final goodbyes .

Nothing but a group of men dressed in space-suit-like outfits , cautiously throwing the dead body into the grave , they pause only to toss in anything else they are wearing that came into contact with the deceased .

These men are part of the country 's Ebola response team , specifically tasked with burying anyone suspected to have died of the Ebola virus .

The virus is spread through contact with the blood and body fluids of people infected with Ebola , and it is still transferable even from a dead body .

To help combat the spread of the disease , the Liberian government has directed that its citizens should not bury anyone who dies of , or is suspected of having been infected with , Ebola .

For months Liberians ignored the directive , fearing that they would be ostracized by their communities if they admitted that their relatives had died of Ebola , but here in Lofa County -- ground zero of the country 's outbreak -- almost everyone has witnessed the devastating suffering and numerous deaths caused by the virus .

Now almost anytime there is a suspected Ebola death in the community , they call in the Ebola response team to come and bury the body safely .

Safe burials

`` When it started , it was n't that easy , '' says Alpha Tamba , an Ebola response coordinator in Lofa County . `` It was kind of difficult for communities to disclose death . People preferred driving us away . ''

`` We must be grateful for the communities , through the efforts of the local leaders . Now they are disclosing death to us , '' he explains .

Today , the team has been called to a village where a woman has died of unknown causes . It may not have been from the deadly virus , but the villagers are not taking any chances .

The Lofa County health team arrives carrying gloves , gowns , goggles and diluted bleach . They suit up : from head to toe , no skin is exposed . On their hands they wear three layers of gloves , securing the edges with clear tape at the wrists .

Before they enter the house to collect the body , one of them goes in and sprays the house with bleach . Then -- and only then -- can the rest of the team enter to place the body in an airtight polythene bag , ready for burial .

Wailing rents the air as the burial team walks out of the house carrying the body on a stretcher . Some of those crying are the dead woman 's family members ; for their own safety , they can only mourn from a distance .

Town abandoned

A few kilometres away from the village is Zango Town : most of the houses here have been abandoned , their doors padlocked and windows shuttered .

Some of the residents abandoned the town in such a hurry that their clothes and floor mats have been left hanging on clotheslines .

Kazalee Johnson , a community worker , tells CNN the empty houses belong to people who either died of Ebola or those who fled in terror , for fear of contracting the virus .

Johnson says he lost his 8-months-pregnant sister , his brother , niece and many , many others : too many to name .

`` They died . They died , '' he says . `` So many people die -- the houses on your right and even the houses on your left . They are all gone , '' says Johnson .

It 's hard to imagine another area in Lofa county that has been harder hit than this one .

But then there 's Barkedu Town -- of the 1,000 or so Ebola-related deaths in Liberia , 20 % of the victims have died in this single town .

Quarantine zone

Home to more than 8,000 people , Barkedu is now under quarantine : no one can go in , and no one can go out .

The toll of the isolation is weighing heavily on the community .

`` From the time we started receiving death from Ebola -- every activity cease , '' says Musa Sessay , the town 's chief . `` Because we do farm here and now there 's been no farming . ''

`` We need food , we really need medicine . But the most important one is medicine because the hospital is closed down , there is no health worker , '' he says .

This is what life is like across Lofa : The people are locked in , afraid and alone .

And not even the health workers are spared the ravaging effects of Ebola .

Sometimes when they are called in to investigate a case , they get there only to discover the victim is one of their own .

Ebola nightmares

One of the local clinics had to be locked up after all the healthcare workers based there contracted the virus . Only one survived .

`` It is very heartbreaking . You are working for the team at the front and you see them lying down . Day by day , they are dying , '' says Tamba , who admits the harrowing work he does has caused him nightmares .

`` Sometimes we go to bed and we dream of nothing else but Ebola , Ebola , Ebola -- nothing else , '' he explains . `` Several times I dream I become infected , I see myself in the case management center . ''

But he says that amid all the bad news , he is beginning to hear happier tidings : an increasing number of Ebola survivors , people who initially tested positive for the virus but -- because they reported it early and because of the medical teams ' efforts -- later recovered .

These positive outcomes keep Tamba hopeful as he and other health workers continue to tirelessly explain to the community how to prevent infection .

`` It is difficult to stand in front of Ebola , but this is the situation we have , '' he says . `` We must do everything we can to kick Ebola out of our country .

`` Staying at home or running away from Ebola is not a solution , so we have to face it . We have to fight it . To get it to zero . ''

READ MORE : Ebola death toll passes 1,550 , outbreak worsens
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READ MORE : Ebola : Your biggest questions answered

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Liberia is one of the countries worst-hit by the West African Ebola outbreak

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Entire towns and villages have been placed into quarantine or abandoned by residents

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Health workers must ensure those who die of virus are buried safely , to avoid contamination

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`` Running away from Ebola is not a solution -- we have to face it , fight it , '' says Alpha Tamba